Fay
Fay are a magical and illusive species of spirits that exist across both Skyverse and the prime universe. Born from the magical energy that flows through the skyverse, fay take physical form once they have accumulated enough of this energy and thus, gather around spots where it is plenttiful. Before taking form, a fay is an invisible spirit that travels the land in search of magical hot spots in which they can call home. Once a fay has taken form they are unable to change, and so the taking of a form is a very important part of a fays life. The form in which a fay takes is determined by several factors, the most important of which being how strong the areas connection to magic is. If the surrounding area has a strong connection, the fay are capable of taking stronger forms, some even becoming capable of speech. Meanwhile if the areas connection is weak, the fay will be little more than magically inclined animals. Other factors tend to include the location itself, local folklore and the fay's personality. Depending on the fay's personality, they may either take the forms of benevolent tricksters, helpful spirits of dangerous beasts. Due to their natural draw to sources of magic, fay often make contact with humans capable of using magic and will offer their services as a familiar or contract partner in order to share the magic users energy. Types of Fay Though the form a fay takes is unique to that individual spirit, most fay tend to mimic each other with their forms and actions. This sort of behaviour has led to several types of fay being identified by the magical community. Faries A fairy is one of the more commonly known type of fay to exist, being one of the oldest recorded and with its name being the origin of the term fay. Though the specifics can change, a fairy is typically a small human with wings. Faries are very intellegent, this can be both a good and bad thing depending of the fairy itself as most tend to be mschievous trouble makers who find it fun to mess with the lives of humans. Despite this, the few helpful ones are highly sought after by practitioners of magic as they make great familiars due to their strong magical abilities and fact they are a source of fairy dust. Fairies are commonly found within the forests, with large communties of them being hidden deep within. These communties are hard to find unless you know what to look for or the fairies themselves wish for you to find them. Brownies A brownie, also known simply as a house spirit, is a type of helpful fay that inhabits the homes of other beings, namely humans, and aids in tasks around the house in secret. A brownie can be identified by its extremely small stature and brown hair that covers most of its body. The brownies hate to be seen and prefer to work in the night, at times like this they will dust the home in places the inhabitants cannot, find lost items and fix holes in clothing. Once their task is done they will returns to their hidden home within the house and await the next night for more work. Brownies find joy in their work to the point where the find the concept of being paid for their deeds as an insult, doing so will even result in the brownie leaving the house. However, they will accept gifts left out for them in the form of food. A favourite among brownies is porridge and honey. Will-o'-Wisps A will-o'-wisp is a innocent, yet very dangerous fay that lurks along old pathways through forests, marshes and bogs. In the night, the flame they carry resembles a flickering lantern and if approached the wisp will flee, often luring people from the safe paths into the dangerous wilderness where they are sure to perish. They are known as guides to the afterlife. Some wisps do this on purpose, in order to feeds on persons soul after death and use them a fuel for their flame. However many do this by mistake, with their shyness often mistaken for them purposefully luring people into the night. Kelpie An evil water fay that lurks in swamps, marshes and lakes, the kelpie is a dangeous creature that catches and feeds on the living by luring them into it's trap. A kelpie takes the form of a beautiful white horse in order to lure in unsuspecting prey. Once a person has touched the kelpie, the fay returns to its original form ensnares is victim and proceeds to drag them into the depths of the water to drown them and feed. Kitsune Kitsune are very rare and powerful fay that only form every few hundred years due to the amount of magical energy a fay must build up in order to become one. They are treated with high regard by other fay, however among the human world they are considered tricksters and thieves. Kitsune often take he forms of foxes, with the amount of tails they posses reflecting how powerful that individual kitsune is. The higher number of tails, the more that kitsune is respected among its kind. Despite their power, kitsune get bored easily and find joy in playing tricks on humans, a favourite of which being disguising themselves as beautiful women and stealing from helpless suitors. Salamanders Though resembling common lizards, salamanders are anything but as in reality they are actually fay with a strong affinity for fire. Though they have been known to burn down entire homes and cause forest fire by accident, salamanders are actually a very docile type of fay. A salamander will make it's home in piles of wood and sleep for most of it's life, only normally waking up when they are disturbed. The fire a salamander produces is much more intense than regular fire, and it is said that burn from this fire will never heal. Despite the danger, many in the magic community like to keep salamanders as pets, often keeping them in a fireplace where they will provide a nice warm fire for their owner. Cotton Flys A harmless fay that simply goes whenever the wind may take it, it is not too uncommon to see many cotton flys in flight, being blown away by the strong winds to far off lands. the cotton-like coat of the cotton fly is highly sought after as it holds the ability of the fay itself, that being that it absorbs the cold air around, making it a perfect material for clothes and bedding. The material is also useful ingredient for potions. Grimm Also known as the black shuck and barghest, the grimm take the forms of monstrous black dogs and haunt the graveyards of man. Though, despite their appearance, grimm are actually the type of guardian spirits. Grimm protect the graveyards of men, guarding them from grave robbers or other dark spirits that seek to desecrate the bodies of the dead. Grimm spend all their days in and around the church connected to the graveyard, as they enjoy the sounds of a church bells ring. Mandrakes Mandrakes are a type of plant fay, known for their potent potion making leaves and its death inducing screech. It is not uncommon for a witch or wizard to grow mandrakes, making suitable homes for the fay to inhabit so they can harvest their leaves. Mandrakes happily sleep throughout the days in the soil, however if suddenly removed from the soil and disturbed they will start screeching. The affects of this screech varies depending on the maturity of the mandrake, ranging from simply knocking people unconscious to even causing death. The only way to calm a mandrake once it has started screaming is to sing a special lullaby sung in the fay native tongue. Trolls A common yet highly dangerous fay, the troll is a creature of pure instinct that only seeks to eat, sleep and mate. Trolls tend to live within deep, isolated caves in the mountains or forests, only leaving to hunt for food. Trolls have a basic tribal society, they are capable of crafting basic tools from sharpened wood and stone and operate under a lead alpha. Though trolls tend to live in large packs, there are a few documented account of trolls living by themselves, often under bridges. The living conditions of a troll also seem to affect the form they take. A troll that lives in a pack will look near identical to it's pack mates, meanwhile trolls that live in isolation can look vastly different from each other, some even being considerably larger than a common pack troll (that often tend to be about 5 feet). Villages that live near trolls are prone to pillaging, with many live stock being lost on a monthly basis and at worse times, children. Killing a troll is a hard task and often pointless due to the quick rate in which they can reproduce, the only protection a village or individual can have against a troll is that of a enchanted cross that wards off evil spirits. White Stag A very powerful fay that takes the form of a noble white stag and embodies the lives of the creatures that live the forest, a white stag is a very rare creature to even spot as they are extremely elusive and fearful of man. If a white stag lives in a forest it is looked up to by all inhabitants within it, and treated as a king among the animals and protector of the forest. The job of a white stag is to not only protect the animals of the forest, but to also heal the forest whenever it is hurt. After a forest fire a white stag can restore the beauty of the land by simply walking over the charred earth and it can purify polluted waters by bathing in them. Because of their grand stature and elusive nature, white stags are highly sort after by hunters and those who wish to claim it as a trophy. It is believed by the worshippers of Hircine that, if they are able to track and kill a white stag in their gods honour, he will appear to them and give them his blessings. Category:Races Category:Skyverse Category:Terms Category:Species Category:Magical Being